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POOGIE 

and 

SIBELLA 










POOGIE 

and 

SIBELLA 

By Nita Van Housen 



With Pictures by Emma Brock 


albertI^hitman 
to tj* CO 

CHICAGO 

C. 






TZ/o 

.3 

■ V3I7 

?o 



Copyright, 1932 

By ALBERT WHITMAN & COMPANY 
Chicago, U. S. A. 



PRINTED IN U.8 A. 


OCT 


n o 

fr* 


1932 



©CIA 56639 


Dedicated 

to 

That Small Boy who says, 
“I want a dog. Why can’t 
I have a dog?” 







CONTENTS 


CHAPTER PAGE 

I. 

Poogie and Sibella Go to a Circus 

1 

II. 

Poogie and Sibella Go Fishing. . 

13 

III. 

Poogie and Sibella Find the Pot 



of Gold at the Foot of the Rain¬ 



bow . 

21 

IV. 

Poogie and Sibella Have an Ex¬ 



citing Experience. 

31 

V. 

Poogie Becomes a Hero. 

39 

VI. 

Poogie and Sibella Go to Church 

49 

VII. 

Poogie and Sibella Give a Party 

58 

VIII. 

Poogie and Sibella Go to See the 



World . 

70 






















































































































































































INTRODUCTION 


I WAS all through writing this story about 
Poogie and Sibella and had put away my 
pencil and eraser when Somebody said, 
“Aren’t you going to write an introduction?” 
“Do I have to?” I asked. 

“Well, of course, all good books have in¬ 
troductions,” said Somebody. 

So I had to get my pencil and eraser and 
think what I would say in an introduction, 
for of course this is a good book and if all 
good books have introductions, mine must 
have one, too. 

Introductions are supposed to tell Some¬ 
body who Somebody Else is, so perhaps I’d 
better tell you who Poogie and Sibella are. 

Poogie isn’t a name I made up. It’s a real 
dog’s name. A woman who lived next door 
to me had a brindle bull pup she called 
Poogie. He wasn’t good for anything ex¬ 
cept to bark, and for me to put in a story. 


Sibella is a name I made up. It’s just 
about the first cat’s name I ever made up, so 
if it isn’t a very good one, that’s why. I 
never saw a cat like Sibella, but I’m sure 
there are lots and lots of them almost like 
her and they would probably act just about 
the way she did and say the things she did. 

And now that I have introduced you to 
Poogie and Sibella, perhaps you had better 
begin reading about them right away before 
your mother says, “Bedtime!” the way she 
always does just when you get in the most 
interesting places. 

P. S. I almost forgot to tell you how to 
pronounce Poogie's name. It always makes 
him cross to have it mispronounced. 

The “g” sounds like the “g” in “good” 
and not like the “g” in “gentle.” 

—Nita Van Housen 



CHAPTER I 

Poogie and Sibella Go to a Circus 

I DON’T know what kind of dog Poogie 
was. He was brown and black and looked 
as though he might be a bull pup, but per¬ 
haps he wasn't. It really doesn’t matter what 
kind of dog he was. It’s more interesting to 
know what he did than to know what he 
was. 


1 







Sibella was a large yellow cat who knew 
how to make her tail big and fluffy and how 
to see in the dark. Sibella sounds like a girl's 
name, but it isn’t. It’s a cat's name, for I 
made it up myself. I don't know what kind 
of cat Sibella was, only I know she wasn't 
a Persian because she didn't come from 
Persia. 

Poogie and Sibella lived in a little yellow 
house at the end of Little-John-Lane. I 
don't know why it was called Little-John- 
Lane. It was just a name somebody gave it 
a long time before Poogie and Sibella came 
there to live. 

One day Poogie and Sibella started to 
look for a saucer of milk, a chicken bone 
and a bunch of catnip. The chicken bone 
was for Poogie and the saucer of milk and 
the catnip were for Sibella. 

As usual Poogie was scolding Sibella for 
wanting the catnip. Poogie said he could 
understand anyone wanting a saucer of milk; 
but catnip was only a queer sort of weed 
growing in the garden and all Sibella wanted 
it for was to roll in it. 


2 


'You are foolish, Sibella,” said Poogic 
crossly. “We can't waste time looking for 
catnip for you to roll in. You can just as 
well roll in the grass.” 

“What?” asked Sibella, who wasn’t pay¬ 
ing attention. 

“I said you could roll in the grass,” said 
Poogie. 

“What grass?” asked Sibella. 

“Why, our grass; the grass in our yard,” 
said Poogie. 

“But why should I roll in our grass?” 
said Sibella. 

“Dear me, Sibella, I wish you would pay 
attention. I was saying you didn’t need cat¬ 
nip to roll in when we have a yard full of 
grass,” explained Poogie impatiently. 

“But I don’t want to roll in our grass 
and I do want to roll in catnip. You see, 
it smells better,” said Sibella. 

“No, I don't see. I can’t see the smell of 
catnip and you can’t either, Sibella.” 

Sibella didn’t say anything more for she 
knew there was no use trying to make Poogie 
understand about catnip. She walked along 


3 


thinking her thoughts and not paying atten¬ 
tion to anything. Of course she was paying 
attention to her thoughts but not to any¬ 
thing else. 

Suddenly Poogie exclaimed, “Look!" 

“Look where?" said Sibella, still thinking 
her thoughts. 

“Look there!” cried Poogie. 

“And where is there?" asked Sibella. 

“Oh, Sibella, you are so stupid!" sighed 
Poogie. “Look at that big signboard in front 
of us with all those dogs and cats on it." 

Sibella stopped thinking her thoughts, sat 
down on the sidewalk, curled her tail neatly 
around her, and looked at the signboard. 

It was a very large signboard and there 
was a colored poster on it showing dozens 
of dogs and cats performing all sorts of tricks. 
Some were walking on their hind feet, some 
were turning somersaults, some were climb¬ 
ing ladders and riding on teeter-tawters and 
merry-go-rounds. It was a most exciting 
poster, especially to Poogie and Sibella who 
had never seen dogs and cats do such won¬ 
derful things. 


4 


“Poogie,” said Sibella, “can you read what 
it says?” 

“I don’t know,” said Poogie. “Maybe I 
can read some of it. I can read three-letter 
words if there aren't too many capitals.” 

“Try if you can,” said Sibella. “Take 
plenty of time.” 

Poogie sat down beside Sibella on the side¬ 
walk but he didn't curl his tail around him 
because his tail was not a real tail at all. It 
was just a little stub about an inch long. 
Poogie used it to steer himself when his hind 
legs ran faster than his front ones. 

When he was all fixed comfortable, he 
squinted up his left eye and began to read 
what it said on the signboard. 

“‘D-O-G,’ that says ‘DOG,’ and ‘A-N-D,’ 
that says ‘AND.’ Oh, that’s easy,—‘DOG 
AND.’ ” 

"But that doesn't mean anything, Poogie, 
—‘DOG AND,'” said Sibella. 

“Don't interrupt me, Sibella, I haven’t 
finished,” said Poogie. “‘C-A-T,’ that says 
‘CAT.’ There, that’s what it says: ‘DOG 
AND CAT.’” 


5 


‘“DOG AND CAT,’—but what about 
dog and cat?” complained Sibella. 

‘‘I don't know,” said Poogie. ‘‘That’s all 
it says. At least that’s all I can read. The 
next word has six letters and I don’t know 
any six-letter words.” 

‘‘Couldn't you—couldn’t you read the 
first three letters, Poogie, and then the other 
three letters?” asked Sibella doubtfully. 

“Of course not, Sibella. Don’t be foolish. 
That isn’t the way to read,” said Poogie. 

“But, Poogie, I want to know what it 
says. Maybe ‘DOG AND CAT’ would 
mean something if we knew what the six- 
letter word meant.” 

“Well, I’ll try it, but I don’t think it 
will do any good. You can't read words in 
parts that way,” said Poogie. 

He squinted up his right eye this time 
and, after a long time, he began to read. 
“‘C-I-R,’ that says ‘SIR,’ and ‘C-U-S,’ that 
says ‘KUS.’ There, you see it doesn't mean 
anything; ‘SIR’ and ‘KUS.’” 

“No, I suppose it doesn’t mean any¬ 
thing,” said Sibella. “ ‘SIR-KUS, SIR-KUS, 


6 




































































































































































































































































































CIRCUS’! Poogie, Poogic, it says ‘CIR¬ 
CUS!’” 

Poogie got up and turned around three 
times. Then he sat down on his little one- 
inch tail and said, "So it does, Sibella, it says 
‘DOG AND CAT CIRCUS’!” 

They were so amazed they had nothing 
more to say for five minutes. Then Sibella 
said, “Let’s go; Poogie, let’s go to the DOG 
AND CAT CIRCUS.” 

“We haven’t time,” said Poogie. “It takes 
time to go to a circus.” 

“We could use the time we were going 
to spend looking for the chicken bone,” sug¬ 
gested Sibella. 

“Indeed, we couldn’t,” cried Poogie, “I 
can’t go without my supper. But I’ll tell 
you what we can do; we can use the time 
we were going to spend looking for the cat¬ 
nip. If you have a saucer of milk you can 
get along without the catnip.” 

Sibella wanted the catnip but she also 
wanted to go to the DOG AND CAT 
CIRCUS so at last she agreed. 

Down the street they went. 


9 


When they came to the tent, in they 
walked. It was a wonderful circus. A little 
dog wearing a uniform of blue came out 
and played on a drum. Then all the other 
dogs and cats marched around the big ring 
in the middle of the tent. After that there 
were ever so many acts. Little dogs dressed 
in fluffy pink and blue dresses danced and 
one was a clown dog. He lay down and 
pretended to be dead. Another dog poured 
water on him and he came to life again. 
The cats also did delightful tricks. They 
rode in doll carriages pushed by dogs dressed 
up to look like nurses. They rode on a 
merry-go-round and on a teeter-tawter. 
Sibella had not known that cats could do 
such clever things. She wished she could be 
in a circus and ride on a merry-go-round. 

By and by a big basket with something 
green in it was set down in the middle of 
the ring. Poogie said, “I wonder what is in 
that basket.” 

Sibella sniffed once or twice and then ex¬ 
claimed, ‘‘I know; it's catnip.” 

In a moment all the circus cats came 


10 


marching one by one toward the basket. 
Each one hopped into the basket, rolled over 
and over, hopped out and ran away. The 
smell of catnip filled all the tent. 

Sibella sniffed and sniffed, and wrinkled 
up her nose and her tail waved back and 
forth as it hung down back of the seat. 

Suddenly she sprang up and, before Poogie 
could stop her, she ran to the basket, hopped 
in, rolled over three times, hopped out and 
came trotting back to her place beside Poogie. 

Everybody laughed and Poogie was dread¬ 
fully ashamed. He got up very stiffly and 
walked out of the tent. Sibella followed 
him wondering why Poogie was leaving 
before the show was over. 

Poogie scolded all the way home, but 
Sibella was thinking some very important 
thoughts and paid no attention to him. 

On the way they found the chicken bone 
and a saucer of milk. 

"Of course you’ll get no catnip," growled 
Poogie, "for we used the time to go to the 
circus that we might have spent hunting for 
catnip." 


11 


Sibella only purred loudly and went on 
thinking her thoughts. She did not care 
about the catnip now. Had she not rolled 
in a whole basketful at the circus? 



12 



CHAPTER II 


Poogie and Sibella Go Fishing 


A FEW days after Poogie and Sibella 
went to the DOG AND CAT CIR¬ 
CUS, Poogie woke up in the morning with 
a headache. 

“Let me put a poultice on your head,” 
said Sibella. 

“Don't be foolish, Sibella,” said Poogie, 
“nobody cures a headache with a poultice.” 


13 


“Then I'll sing to you,” said Sibella. 

So she purred loud and low, low and 
loud, until Poogie clapped his paws over his 
ears and told Sibella to stop that racket. 

Poor Sibella looked very much hurt, but 
she knew there was no use trying to please 
Poogie when he had a headache. So she just 
opened her little pink mouth and yawned 
very wide. Then she stretched herself, and 
pushed all her claws out to be sure they were 
in good working order. Then she sat down 
with her tail curled around her and began 
thinking some important thoughts. 

It was very still in the garden and Sibella 
and Poogie were almost asleep. 

Suddenly Poogie sprang up with a yelp 
of excitement and said, “Sibella, I know 
what let's do; let’s go fishing. It will cure 
my headache.” 

Sibella opened her eyes and stared at 
Poogie. Then she got up slowly and said, 
“All right, Poogie, we’ll go fishing.” 

Poogie and Sibella often went fishing 
although they never caught any fish. Some¬ 
times, however, they caught other things. 


14 


Once Poogie caught a cold because he got his 
feet wet, and once Sibella caught a cricket. 

Soon they were on their way across the 
meadow toward the brook. Poogie frisked 
about, chasing his tail and jumping over his 
shadow, but Sibella walked along sedately, 
waving her tail and thinking important 
thoughts. 

It was very hot so they stopped under a 
tree to rest. Poogie had forgotten all about 
his headache and talked cheerfully about the 
fish he was going to catch. 

“What kind of a fish will it be?” asked 
Sibella. 

“It will be a dogfish, or else maybe a cat¬ 
fish,” answered Poogie. “If it is a dogfish, 
I’ll eat it and if it is a catfish, you may 
have it.” 

“How can you tell which it is?” asked 
Sibella. 

Poogie didn’t know how he could tell so 
he didn't say anything. 

For a long time they lay quietly under 
the tree. The sun shone warm and bright 
and the leaves rustled faintly in the breeze. 


15 


By and by Poogie went to sleep. He snored 
ever so little and sometimes his leg kicked 
or his little one-inch tail twitched. He was 
dreaming of the fish he was going to catch. 

Sibella wasn’t asleep. She sat perfectly 
quiet, listening to Poogie snore and thinking 
some important thoughts. Suddenly her eyes 
opened wider and her tail trembled. Her 
sharp claws dug into the ground, and she 
crouched down flat in the grass. A moment 
later she sprang right over Poogie toward 
little Mollie Fieldmouse who was on her way 
home from the Mouse Market with some 
cheese and some mouse cinnamon rolls. 

But Sibella was not quite quick enough. 
Mollie Fieldmouse scampered off through the 
grass laughing to herself, and that night she 
had a wonderful time telling all her friends 
about her narrow escape. 

Sibella sat down again with her tail curled 
around her, and this time she began washing 
her face. Sibella was very particular about 
her appearance and spent a great deal of time 
washing herself. 

Once Poogie opened his eyes but, when 


16 





















































































































































































































































































he saw Sibella washing her face, he closed 
them again and went back to sleep. 

Sibella had nearly finished washing behind 
her left ear when a big fat bumble bee came 
bumbling along. He paid no attention to 
Sibella but bumbled over toward Poogie. 

Poogie popped his eyes open when he 
heard the bumble bee and he tried to brush 
it away from his face. At that instant he 
felt something hot and stinging on the ten- 
derest part of his little black nose. 

“Ki! Yi! Ki! Yi! Sibella! Sibella! I’m 
stung; a bee stung me!” wailed Poogie. 

He pushed his little nose into the soft dirt 
and rubbed it against the bark of the tree 
but he couldn't stop the pain. In a few 
minutes his nose began to swell. 

Sibella wanted to laugh because Poogie 
looked so funny with his nose all swollen 
and the tears running down his cheeks. But 
Sibella was a polite cat and knew better than 
to laugh at any one who was in trouble, so 
she only said, ‘‘Come on, Poogie, let’s go 
home.” 

They started home across the meadow, 


19 


forgetting all about the fish they were going 
to catch. Poogie moaned and complained all 
the way and scolded Sibella for walking so 
fast. 

“Sibella, don't walk so fast. My face is 
swelling so I can scarcely see.” 

Sibella walked more slowly, and at last 
they reached the little house in Little-John- 
Lane. 

“Now, Poogie,” said Sibella, “I’ll make a 
poultice for your nose and then I’ll sing you 
a song.” 

Poogie was glad enough to have the poul¬ 
tice this time, and he lay quite still while 
Sibella made it and put it on him. 

When he was comfortable, Sibella sat 
beside him and began to purr. Loud and 
low, low and loud she purred. Soon Poogie 
was asleep and snoring. 

When Sibella was sure Poogie was asleep, 
she curled her tail around her and began 
thinking some very important thoughts 
which she should have thought the day 
before. 


20 



CHAPTER III 

Poogie and Sibella Find the Pot of Gold 
at the Foot of the Rainbow 

O NE warm afternoon Poogie came 
around the corner of the house just in 
time to see Sibella bite off a long blade of 
grass. She slowly and thoughtfully ate this 
as though she thoroughly enjoyed it. Poogie 
watched in astonishment until Sibella had 
finished and had begun to bite off another 
blade, then he called sharply, “Sibella!" 

Sibella looked up in surprise and then 
said, “Oh, is that you, Poogie?" 

“Of course it’s me," answered Poogie. 
“Who else could it be?” 


21 





“We-e-11,” said Sibella thoughtfully, “it 
might be the Ice-Man.” 

“Well, it isn’t the Ice-Man,” snapped 
Poogie, and then added, “but, Sibella, why 
were you eating grass? Cats don’t eat grass.” 

“Yes, they do,” replied Sibella, “but I 
don't know why, unless it’s a sign of rain.” 

“How can a cat eating grass be a sign of 
rain?” asked Poogie. 

“I don’t know but I heard a woman tell 
her little boy one day that, when a cat ate 
grass, it would rain before night.” 

“Well, I don’t believe it,” growled Poogie 
crossly, as he curled himself up on the door¬ 
mat and went to sleep with one eye. He kept 
the other eye open to watch Sibella. 

Sibella carefully washed her face and paws 
and then, wrapping her tail around her, she, 
too, went to sleep with one eye. She kept 
the other eye open to watch Poogie. 

Suddenly they were both startled by a 
rumble of thunder and the next moment big 
drops of rain began to patter down. Poogie 
and Sibella lay on the doormat inside the 
porch and watched the rain. 


22 


Poogie didn’t like the thunder. It made 
little shivers run up and down his back and 
he wanted to run into the house and crawl 
under the bed. But he knew Sibella would 
laugh at him so he sat still—all except his 
little one-inch tail. It wriggled and jerked 
with nervousness but Sibella didn’t notice. 

In less than half an hour the rain was 
over and the sun came out. Sibella arose, 
stretched herself, sharpened her claws on the 
doormat and said, “You see it was a sign of 
rain when I ate grass.’’ 

Poogie didn’t believe it but he didn’t 
know what to say, so he only grunted. 

Sibella walked slowly down the walk, 
waving her tail and looking very thought¬ 
ful. Before she reached the gate she heard 
Poogie give an excited little bark and come 
running after her. 

Sibella turned around and sat down, say¬ 
ing, “Well, Poogie, I suppose you have 
thought of something.” 

Sibella said that, because Poogie always 
barked when he had a bright idea. Of course 
Sibella wondered what it was. 


23 


“Sibella!” cried Poogie, “let's look for the 
pot of gold at the foot of the rainbow!” 

“Where is the rainbow?” asked Sibella. 

“Don't be silly, Sibella—isn't there always 
a rainbow after a rain?” 

“Well, where is it?” she asked stubbornly. 

“Oh, it’s around here some place, I guess,” 
answered Poogie. “Anyway the foot of it 
would be right over there in the meadow 
beside the brook.” 

“How do you know it would?” asked 
Sibella. 

“Because the end of every rainbow is in 
a meadow. Come on, Sibella, let’s look for 
the pot of gold.” 

Sibella didn’t know much about rainbows 
and pots of gold, but she did know there 
was no use arguing with Poogie. So, with 
a sigh, she got up, yawned and said, “All 
right, Poogie.” 

They started off across the meadow toward 
the brook. Poogie was so excited he ran 
round and round in circles, chasing his little 
one-inch tail. Sibella, as usual, walked along 

24 


sedately, thinking her thoughts and not pay¬ 
ing attention to anything. 

Once she did stop thinking long enough 
to say, “Who told you there was a pot of 
gold at the foot of the rainbow?" 

“Oh, I heard a woman tell her little boy,” 
answered Poogie. 

Now there really wasn’t any rainbow at 
all so of course Poogie couldn’t find the end 
of it but that made no difference to him. 
He was very sure he knew where to go to 
search for the pot of gold. 

However, when they reached the brook 
they could see nothing that looked like a pot 
of gold. Sibella sat down and looked dis¬ 
gusted, while Poogie ran up and down the 
brook peering among the bushes. 

At last Sibella called after him, “I thought 
they always dug in the ground for gold.” 

Poogie stopped short. “Of course! Sibella, 
you are right! Why didn't I think of that?” 

He came running back to Sibella, his little 
pink tongue hanging out and his little one- 
inch tail jerking excitedly. 


25 


“Of course, Sibella,” he repeated, “we 
must dig." 

“'Wei” said Sibella scornfully, “cats don’t 
dig in the ground.” 

Poogie sighed, for he knew it was true. 
If there were any digging to be done, he 
would have to do it himself. He looked 
about him and at last he said, “Over there 
in that black spot is the place to dig. The 
pot of gold is there, I'm sure. We will just 
dig and dig until we find it.” 

Sibella said nothing although she didn’t 
believe there was a pot of gold anywhere 
near them. 

Poogie began to dig. His forepaws worked 
so fast the dirt fairly flew. Some of it flew 
out behind him and hit Sibella. Sibella 
moved around in front of Poogie. In a few 
minutes Poogie was standing on his head in 
the hole with his little one-inch tail point¬ 
ing straight upward. 

And then—with a glad yelp, he withdrew 
his head and, shaking the dirt out of his eyes, 
he cried, “I’ve found it! Sibella, I’ve found 
it!” 


26 









“Found what?” murmured Sibella, who 
was half asleep. 

“Oh, Sibella, you are so stupid!” wailed 
Poogie. “Why can’t you pay attention?” 

Without waiting to scold any more he 
plunged into the hole again and began to 
dig. In another moment he came out of the 
hole with something in his mouth. He laid 
it down on the ground and looked at it in 
surprise. Sibella got up and walked over to 
see the pot of gold. 

“Do you call that a pot of gold, Poogie? 
It looks to me like an old bone.” 

“It is!” answered Poogie delightedly. “I 
buried it here a long time ago and forgot all 
about it. I’ll take it home. I need a new 
bone to gnaw; my old one is all worn out.” 

“But I thought you wanted to find the 
pot of gold,” said Sibella. 

“This suits me better than a pot of gold,” 
answered Poogie, as he picked up the bone 
and trotted off toward home. 

“But what about me?” called Sibella. 

Poogie couldn't answer because he had the 
bone in his mouth, so he just trotted on. 


29 


Sibella sighed and walked slowly after him 
thinking some thoughts she had forgotten to 
think yesterday. 



30 


CHAPTER IV 


Poogie and Sibella Have an Exciting 
Experience 

I T WAS Saturday afternoon. Poogie and 
Sibella had been fishing. Poogie had 
caught a rabbit—that is, he almost caught 
it—and Sibella had caught a field mouse, so 
they were going home quite happy. 

Just as they reached a big tree in the mid¬ 
dle of the meadow they heard a strange and 
terrible roaring right over their heads. They 


31 


looked up and Poogie yelped with terror. He 
tried to put his tail between his legs but, of 
course, a one-inch tail isn’t much good to 
put between one’s legs, so instead he yelped 
some more and tried to run. Sibella’s tail 
was a perfectly good tail and, when Sibella 
saw what was right over her head, she fluffed 
it up until it was twice as large as usual, and 
she spit fiercely and growled angrily. 

The terrible thing above them paid no 
attention. It passed over their heads so close 
it almost seemed to touch them and it came 
crashing to the ground only a few feet in 
front of them. It ran along a little way, 
and then stopped. The roaring ceased and 
all was still. 

Poor Poogie and Sibella had been so 
frightened they couldn’t move but now they 
began running as fast as they could. To 
reach home they had to run quite near the 
monster and, just as they were hurrying past, 
a man stepped out of the thing and called 
to them, “Well, Pup and Kitty, did I scare 
you?” 

Poogie could always tell when people were 
32 


his friends. He didn’t know how he knew, 
but he always did. Poogie knew this man 
was a special friend of dogs so he stopped 
and waited to see what would happen. 
Sibella didn’t care anything about the man 
but she wouldn’t leave Poogie. 

The man came toward them smiling and 
talking. “Come here, old boy,” he said to 
Poogie. “I won’t hurt you. Sorry my air¬ 
plane frightened you but I had to come down 
quickly. Something went wrong and I didn't 
want a tumble, even if I did land in such a 
pretty meadow.” 

By this time he was quite close to Poogie 
and Sibella who still trembled although they 
were no longer afraid. The man patted 
Poogie on the head and smoothed Sibella's 
fur until her tail was again its usual size. 

“Come on, you two, and help me fix this 
machine,” the man finally said. 

Of course Poogie and Sibella couldn’t 
really help but they followed the man and 
stood watching while he fixed some part of 
the bird-like creature that had come down in 
the meadow. 


33 


In a few minutes the man had finished 
and was about to climb into the airplane. 
Suddenly he stopped and looked at Poogie 
and Sibella. Then he laughed and said, 
“How would you like a ride in this thing 
to pay for your fright?” 

Poogie and Sibella did not understand 
exactly what the man said but by this time 
Poogie was very much in love with him and 
wanted to keep near him. Sibella didn’t care 
about the man, but she always followed 
Poogie wherever he went. 

With another laugh the man reached 
down, picked up Poogie and Sibella, dropped 
them into the airplane and climbed in too. 

Almost at once the dreadful roaring began 
again and, as the airplane ran along on the 
ground, Poogie and Sibella went bumping 
about like two rubber balls. 

“Oh, Sibella, what is it? What is hap¬ 
pening?” cried Poogie. 

“I don’t know,” answered Sibella, “but 
you were foolish to follow that man.” 

Poogie was trying to appear very brave, 
so he said nothing more. 


34 













































































































































































































































































































Soon the bumping ceased although the 
roaring continued. Poogie and Sibella didn't 
know it but, by this time, they were flying 
high above the meadow. The man looked 
down at them and laughed to see Sibella’s 
tail sticking up, twice as large as usual. 

“Scared, Kitty?" he asked. 

When Poogie heard the man’s voice, he 
looked up and, at once, all his fear was gone. 
He knew everything was all right. This man 
was a real friend and they were safe. 

In a short time they landed, bumping 
along for some distance before the airplane 
stopped. The man lifted Poogie and Sibella 
out, patted them and said, “Good-by, Pup 
and Kitty." 

He climbed into the airplane again and 
was off. Poogie and Sibella watched until he 
was a far-ofF speck in the sky and then they 
turned and looked at each other, their eyes 
round with astonishment. 

“Sibella," gasped Poogie, “do you suppose 
we were up there in the sky when we were 
in that thing?" 


37 


Sibella was so amazed she couldn't speak, 
so she only nodded. 

“Sibella, what do you suppose that thing 
is?” asked Poogie. 

“It’s an eagle,” said Sibella. 

“No, it isn’t an eagle,” answered Poogie. 
“It's too big for an eagle.” 

“Well, then,” said Sibella, “what is it?” 

“It's—it’s—a camel,” said Poogie at last. 

Sibella looked doubtful. “How do you 
know it’s a camel?” she asked. 

“Well, people ride on camels, don’t they? 
And didn’t we ride on this thing? So it 
must be a camel,” declared Poogie. 

Sibella didn’t believe it was a camel but, 
since she had never seen a camel, she wasn't 
sure. She sat still a long time and then she 
said, “Poogie, let’s go home.” 

They started home across the meadow. 
Poogie was hungry and, remembering a bone 
he had buried that morning, he ran on ahead. 
Sibella followed slowly, thinking some en¬ 
tirely new thoughts. 


38 


CHAPTER V 
Poogie Becomes a Hero 

S OMETIMES Poogie and Sibella went to 
visit a friend of Poogie’s who lived on 
the other side of the brook. One morning 
Poogie said, “Come on, Sibella, let’s go and 
see Jip. I told him we would come over 
today.” • 

Sibella was washing her right hind foot 
and did not answer. 

“Sibella, did you hear me?” asked Poogie. 
“Yes,” said Sibella, “I heard you but I 
don’t want to go to see Jip.” 


39 


"Why not?” asked Poogie. 

Sibella did not answer. She began to wash 
her left hind foot. 

Poogie watched her for a moment and 
then he said, “I know why you don’t want 
to go, Sibella; you are afraid to cross the 
bridge.” 

"Well,” said Sibella, "it isn’t much of a 
bridge and it wiggles.” 

"Oh, don’t be silly, Sibella; you won’t 
fall off and even if you do, it won’t hurt 
you. The water isn’t deep and you can wade 
out.” 

Sibella sighed. She knew it was no use 
arguing. She couldn’t make Poogie under¬ 
stand why cats hate to get their feet wet! 
So she stretched herself and said, "All right, 
Poogie, let’s go.” 

Poogie gave a yelp of excitement and ran 
through the gate into the meadow. *He soon 
came to the little bridge and ran across. The 
bridge was only a narrow board. It tipped 
a little but Poogie was not afraid. When he 
reached the other side he sat down to wait 
for Sibella. 


40 


Sibella came slowly across the meadow, 
thinking her thoughts and waving her tail. 
She paid no attention to Poogie when she 
reached the bridge, but carefully and sedately 
walked across. 

Poogie was disappointed. He had expected 
to see Sibella frightened and he imagined 
himself saying, “Don't be silly, Sibella. I’ll 
save you if you fall into the water.” 

Poogie and Sibella followed a little path 
which led into the woods and soon they 
came to Jip’s house. Jip was expecting them 
and ran out to meet them, barking excitedly. 

Soon he and Poogie were engaged in a 
wrestling match while Sibella sat on the 
doorstep and watched them. Sibella never 
could understand why dogs liked wrestling 
so much. She was sure she wouldn’t like to 
have some other cat come tumbling over her, 
growling and snarling and pretending to 
bite. However, Poogie and Jip seemed to 
enjoy rolling each other over and over in the 
leaves, barking, snapping and snarling as 
though they were really angry with one an¬ 
other. 


41 


At last, when they were breathless, they 
came over to Sibella and lay down beside 
each other, their little pink tongues hanging 
out as they panted for breath. Sibella began 
washing her face, at the same time keeping 
an eye on Poogie and Jip. 

In a few minutes they were rested and Jip 
invited them to have lunch with him. He 
had a fresh chicken bone for Poogie and a 
saucer of milk for Sibella. 

After lunch, the three friends sat quietly 
on the doorstep and visited. Poogie and 
Sibella told Jip about their ride in the air¬ 
plane, and Jip told them about a prize he 
had won at a dog show. He went into the 
house and got the prize to show them. It 
was a blue ribbon with some gold letters 
on it. 

“What does it say?” asked Sibella. 

“I don’t know,” said Jip, "but I think it 
says I was the handsomest dog at the dog 
show.” 

Poogie wished he might go to a dog show 
and win a blue ribbon. Sibella didn’t say 
anything but, secretly, she didn't think a blue 


42 


ribbon with gold letters on it was much of a 
prize. It if had been a bunch of catnip tied 
with blue ribbon she would have liked it 
much better. 

By this time the sun was getting low in 
the west so Poogie and Sibella started home. 

When they reached the bridge Poogie 
skipped across and, without waiting to see 
if Sibella crossed safely, he hurried on toward 
home. Suddenly he heard a splash and, turn¬ 
ing quickly, he saw Sibella standing in the 
brook. 

Poor Sibella! She had been thinking some 
important thoughts about blue ribbons and 
had forgotten to step carefully on the nar¬ 
row board. It had tipped with her and she 
had slipped into the water before she could 
stop herself. 

The water was not deep but Sibella was 
very much frightened. Her tail was sticking 
up straight and was twice as large as usual. 
She was snarling and spitting furiously. 

Poogie ran back, barking excitedly. 
"Wade out! Sibella! Wade out!" he called. 

Sibella lifted one foot and angrily shook 


43 


off the water. Then she put it back into the 
brook and lifted another and shook it. She 
did this with each of her four feet. 

Poogie raced wildly along the bank, bark¬ 
ing, “Wade out! Sibella! Wade out!" 

At last Sibella gave an extra loud snarl 
and sprang toward the bank. In a moment 
she was standing beside Poogie. 

“There! Sibella, now you are all right,” 
exclaimed Poogie. 

“I’m not all right,” growled Sibella, “my 
feet are wet.” 

“They will soon dry,” said Poogie cheer¬ 
fully. Then after a short silence, he began 
to bark wildly, “Sibella! Sibella! I’m a hero!” 

Sibella stared at him a moment and then 
said, "A hero! What makes you think you 
are a hero?” 

“Isn't a hero a person who saves another 
person’s life? And didn’t I save your life, 
Sibella?” 

“You certainly did not save my life,” said 
Sibella scornfully. “I saved my own life.” 

“Yes, but I told you what to do,” said 
Poogie. 


44 



2 


2 




















































































































































































































Sibella looked disgusted. She knew there 
was no use arguing with Poogie. If Poogie 
thought he was a hero, nothing could make 
him change his mind. 

“Let’s go home,” said Sibella crossly. 

As they went toward home, Sibella sighed 
wearily. She knew it would take her a long 
time to wash the mud from all four of her 
paws! She almost wished she didn’t have so 
many paws. Perhaps two would be enough 
for a cat, just as it seemed to be enough for 
ducks and hens. 

But Poogie wasn’t worrying about Sibella 
or anything else. He ran round and round 
in circles, chasing his tail, and singing a little 
song he made up as he ran. 

Poogie’s song was something like this: 

Poogie was a hero! 

Poogie was a hero! 

Poogie was a hero brave! 

Of course you want to know, 

Of course you want to know, 

What he did that was so brave. 


47 


Poogie saved Sibella! 

Poogie saved Sibella! 

Saved Sibella’s life today! 
Poogie was a hero! 

Poogie was a hero! 

Sing ho! ho! ho! Sing hey! 



48 



CHAPTER VI 


Poogic and Sibella Go to Church 


O NE Sunday morning Poogic came out 
on the porch where Sibella was wash¬ 
ing her face and said, “Sibella, let's go to 
church.” 

“Dogs and cats don’t go to church,” an¬ 
swered Sibella, “church is for people and 
not for animals.” 

“Well, why can’t dogs and cats go to 
church?” asked Poogie. 

“I don’t know why, but they can’t,” said 
Sibella. 


49 



Poogie said nothing for several minutes 
and then he began to coax Sibella. Now, 
when Poogie coaxed for anything, Sibella 
could scarcely ever refuse him. 

“Please, Sibella, let’s go to church just 
once. I want to know what people do in 
church. They always put on their best 
clothes and they look so serious as they walk 
down the street. I think I have heard them 
sing after they go inside of the church, too. 
Please! Let’s go just once to see what church 
is like.” 

Sibella stopped washing her face and said, 
“Well, I suppose we might go just once. 
But I am afraid they will put us out of the 
church for I am sure they don’t want dogs 
and cats there.” 

“We can go after they are all inside and, 
if we slip in very quietly, no one will hear 
us,” said Poogie. “We can sit near the door 
and, if anyone sees us, we can run out.” 

“All right, then,” said Sibella, “we’ll go.” 

Poogie yelped joyfully and tried to jump 
over his own shadow which stretched out on 
the walk before him. Then he tried to catch 


50 


his tail but, since it was only a one-inch tail, 
he could never come up to it. “Sibella, what 
do we have to do to get ready for church?” 
he asked. 

‘‘We have to wash and wash until we are 
cleaner than we have ever been before,” an¬ 
swered Sibella, with great earnestness. 

‘‘I don’t need to wash, Sibella,” said 
Poogie. ‘‘I washed the other day; Tuesday, 
I think it was.” 

“You can't go to church unless you 
wash,” said Sibella firmly, as she began 
washing her left hind foot. 

Poogie groaned. He hated washing him¬ 
self and never did it except when Sibella 
scolded him until he was ashamed of himself. 
But this time he wanted to go to church and 
he knew Sibella would never go unless he 
washed. So, with many groans and sighs, he 
began washing his paws. Poogie did not 
know how to wash himself as well as Sibella 
did, but he did his best. By and by Sibella 
stopped to tell him that he was really doing 
very well. 

“Wash behind your ears, Poogie,” said 
Sibella. 


51 


"I don't like to wash behind my ears," 
said Poogie, "it hurts.” 

“Well, you will have to wash behind your 
ears if you want to go to church,” said 
Sibella. 

After a great deal of complaining on 
Poogie’s part and a great deal of scolding on 
Sibella’s part, Poogie was clean enough to 
go to church. They waited until everybody 
had gone down the street toward the church, 
and then they slowly followed. When all 
the people had gone into the church, they 
went up the walk and, after listening a mo¬ 
ment, they slipped inside the door. 

No one saw them as they crept into a 
corner. Poogie sat up very straight with his 
ears sticking up and his sharp eyes darting 
everywhere. He was greatly excited and tried 
to wag his little one-inch tail, only of course 
a one-inch tail isn’t much good when it 
comes to wagging. Sibella sat down and 
curled her tail around her as though she had 
always been used to going to church. A man 
was standing in front of all the people. He 
was talking very earnestly and they were all 
listening very attentively. 


52 


“What does he say?" asked Sibella. 

“I don’t know," answered Poogie, “he 
talks so loud I can’t hear him.” 

The man talked a long time and then 
some other men walked about the church 
passing a wooden plate in front of the people. 

“What is in that plate, Poogie?” asked 
Sibella. 

“I don’t know,” replied Poogie, “but I 
don’t think there is anything in it. Perhaps 
the people are putting money in it. I can 
hear money jingling.” 

“What do they want to put money into 
the plates for?” asked Sibella. 

“Oh, don’t ask so many questions, Sibella,” 
exclaimed Poogie, who was trying to see a 
little boy who had sometimes played with 
him and who was sitting not far away. The 
little boy did not see Poogie. Poogie won¬ 
dered what the little boy would do if he 
should turn around and see Sibella and him¬ 
self in church. 

Just then some people in the front part 
of the church stood up and began to sing. 
They sang very loud and in a moment, 
Sibella began to purr. 


53 


"Sibella, do you think you should sing?" 
asked Poogie. "Aren't you afraid some one 
may hear you?" 

Sibella made no answer. She was enjoying 
herself immensely. 

Poogie grew more and more restless. So 
much singing made him feel queer. Poogie 
did not often sing but, when he heard the 
organ playing and all the people singing, he 
felt that he, too, must sing. 

Suddenly he lifted up his head and, point¬ 
ing his little black nose toward the ceiling, 
he began to sing, “Ow-w-w, oo-oo-oo, ow-w, 
yap, yap, yap!” 

"Poogie!” cried Sibella, “stop that racket!" 

All the people in the church stopped sing¬ 
ing and turned toward the door. When they 
saw Poogie and Sibella some of them began 
to laugh and some of them looked very much 
shocked. A man started toward them but, 
before he reached them, Sibella had started 
for the door, saying as she went, "Poogie! 
you come right home with me. I might have 
known you would do something dreadful if 
I let you come.” 


54 


S'XN 









Poogie very meekly followed Sibella out 
of the church, wondering what dreadful 
thing he had done. When they were safely 
outside he said, “Sibella, what was the mat¬ 
ter with my singing? You sang, and all the 
people sang. Why shouldn’t I sing?” 

“Dogs can’t sing,” snapped Sibella, “they 
only howl.” 

Sibella continued to scold and ended by 
saying, “You have disgraced us both, Poogie, 
and never again will I take you to church.” 

Poogie looked quite crestfallen and said 
nothing more for several minutes. However, 
just before he reached home, he saw a squirrel 
run across the street and he ran after it, for¬ 
getting all about his experiences at church. 

Sibella walked slowly home thinking some 
new thoughts that had come to her in church. 



57 



CHAPTER VII 
Poogie and Sibella Give a Party 

S IBELLA had been calling on her friend, 
Smoky, who lived at the other end of 
Little-John-Lane. Smoky was a large black 
cat with eyes that shone in the dark like two 
green lights. Poogie had not gone with Si¬ 
bella because he had some other business 
which needed his attention. 

It was half-past four and Sibella was just 
returning from her call. As she came up the 
walk she saw at once that Poogie was greatly 


58 


excited. I suppose Poogie has a bright idea," 
she said to herself. 

Sure enough! Poogie came hurrying to 
meet Sibella, talking excitedly as he ran. 
“Sibella!” he cried, “let’s have a party and 
invite our friends!” 

Sibella sat down on the doorstep, curled 
her tail neatly around her and looked solemn. 
“Why should we have a party?” she asked. 
“It isn’t a birthday, is it?” 

“No,” answered Poogie, “but can’t we 
have a party even if it isn’t a birthday?” 

“I don’t see how we can; no one ever has 
a party except for a birthday.” 

Poogie sat down on the doorstep beside 
Sibella, looking very much disappointed. 
After a moment he jumped up and began 
barking wildly. 

“I suppose,” said Sibella, "you have an¬ 
other idea.” 

“Sibella! Of course it’s a birthday, so of 
course we can have a party!” 

“Whose birthday is it?” asked Sibella. 

“I don’t know,” replied Poogie, "but every 
day is a birthday for some one, isn’t it?” 


59 


Sibella had to admit that every day was 
a birthday for some one, so she agreed they 
' could have the party. 

“Whom shall we invite?’’ Sibella asked 
quickly. 

“Everyone,” cried Poogie, “all of your 
friends and all of mine.” 

“We can’t do that, Poogie. Some of my 
friends are afraid of dogs and some of your 
friends chase cats. We can’t have any dogs 
who chase cats.” 

“Of course we can,” cried Poogie indig¬ 
nantly. “Let your friends, who are afraid of 
dogs, stay at home.” 

For a few minutes it looked very much as 
though there was going to be a quarrel and 
no party, for Poogie was determined to have 
' all of his friends, and Sibella also was de¬ 
termined to have all of hers. They argued 
and argued until at last Sibella turned her 
back on Poogie and began thinking some 
very serious thoughts. 

For fully five minutes they were silent, 
then Poogie said softly, “Sibella, you have 
one friend who isn’t afraid of dogs and I 


60 


have one who never chases cats. Let’s invite 
those two and have a party.” 

Sibella began to purr and, coming over 
to Poogie, she said, “Poogie, that is a splen¬ 
did idea. How did you ever think of it?” 

‘‘I don’t know,” answered Poogie, “I just 
thought of it. We’ll invite my friend, 
Rowdy, and your friend, Smoky; they will 
love to come.” 

“Indeed they will,” answered Sibella. 
“And now that we have decided whom we 
are to invite, let’s decide what we are to have 
to eat.” 

“I have two bones buried in the garden,” 
said Poogie, “they will do for Rowdy and 
me.” 

“And I will get two saucers of milk for 
Smoky and me,” chimed in Sibella. 

They were so pleased with the idea of 
having a party that they couldn’t wait until 
tomorrow to have it. So, while Sibella went 
to look for the saucers of milk, Poogie went 
to invite Smoky and Rowdy. 

Rowdy and Smoky were delighted to come 
and, in a short time, the four friends were 


61 


in front of the little yellow house at the end 
of Little-John-Lane, ready for the party. 

“What shall we do to have a good time?" 
asked Sibella. 

“Why, eat our refreshments!” exclaimed 
Poogie, who was hungry. 

“Don’t be silly, Poogie. That isn’t the 
way to do at a party. People don’t have 
refreshments first," said Sibella. 

“Well, what do they do then?" asked 
Poogie. 

“They play games, tell stories or have 
music,” answered Sibella patiently. 

“I’ll tell you what let’s do,” said Rowdy, 
"let’s do stunts." 

“What are stunts?" asked Poogie. 

“I don’t know exactly, only I know they 
do stunts at children’s parties," replied 
Rowdy. “Each one has to do something to 
make the others laugh." 

“Oh, that will be fun,” cried Sibella and 
Smoky together. “Poogie, you do the first 
stunt.” 

Poogie didn’t know any stunt to do but 
he wasn’t going to say so. He knew Sibella 


62 












and Smoky would laugh at him if he said 
he didn't know a stunt. He shut his eyes 
and pretended to be thinking very hard. 
Suddenly he began to bark excitedly. 

“Poogie has a bright idea," said Sibella. 

Poogie ran round the corner of the house 
and, in a moment, he came back, walking 
on his hind feet. 

‘‘Oh, Poogie!” cried Sibella, ‘‘I didn’t 
know you could do that. How did you 
learn?" 

Poogie walked slowly forward, made a 
bow and then dropped down on all four 
feet. ‘‘Well,” he said, ‘‘when I saw all those 
dogs at the DOG AND CAT CIRCUS 
walking on their hind feet, I made up my 
mind I’d learn to do it. I’ve been practicing 
every day while you were asleep." 

‘‘It's wonderful,” said Smoky, “I don’t 
see how you do it.” 

‘‘It's easy,” answered Poogie, “any dog can 
do it if he really tries.” 

Sibella said nothing but she looked very 
much pleased and, secretly, she thought 
Poogie a very clever dog. 

65 


"Now, Rowdy, it’s your turn,” said 
Poogie. 

"Oh, I don’t know any stunt,” growled 
Rowdy. 

"Yes you do, Rowdy,” said Smoky. "Do 
your trick with the ball.” 

"Oh, that’s old; everyone has seen that,” 
said Rowdy. 

"We don’t care,” said Sibella, "we always 
like to see you do it.” 

“Where is your ball, Poogie?” asked 
Rowdy. 

Poogie ran into the house and, in a mo¬ 
ment, he came out with his best rubber ball. 

A little boy had taught Rowdy to toss a 
ball up into the air and catch it on his nose 
as it came down. It was the only trick he 
knew and the others had seen him do it many 
times, but they watched politely and clapped 
their paws vigorously when he caught the 
ball squarely on his nose. 

When Rowdy had done his stunt it was 
Sibella’s turn. Sibella walked sedately to a 
tall elm tree and, without hurrying, climbed 
up to the first branch and sat down with her 
tail curled around her. 


66 


“But, Sibella,” called Poogie, “that isn’t 
a stunt.” 

“Why isn’t it?” asked Sibella. 

Don t be silly, Sibella,” said Poogie. “A 
stunt is something different; something ev¬ 
erybody can’t do. It’s a sort of trick.” 

Well, isn’t this something everybody 
can’t do?” asked Sibella. “Can you and 
Rowdy do it?” 

Of course Poogie knew neither he nor 
Rowdy could climb a tree but still he felt 
Sibella had not done a real stunt. However, 
he knew there was no use arguing with 
Sibella, so he turned to Smoky and said, 
“Now, Smoky, it’s your turn.” 

Smoky opened his mouth very wide and 
yawned. “Oh, let’s do something else; I’m 
tired of stunts.” 

“That isn’t fair,” said Sibella as she came 
down from the tree. “Everyone else has done 
a stunt and you must do one, too.” 

“Oh, well then,” said Smoky, as he rose 
and stretched himself. He walked over to 
Rowdy and rubbed himself against Rowdy's 
rough coat. Suddenly some bright sparks 
shot from Smoky’s fur. Rowdy yelped and 


67 


ran away while Poogie and Sibella stared in 
surprise. 

“Oh, Smoky! Smoky! how did you do 
that?” asked Sibella. 

“I don’t know how I do it,” answered 
Smoky. “The sparks just come when I rub 
against certain things.” 

“Did it hurt you, Rowdy?” asked Sibella. 

“No,” growled Rowdy, “but I didn’t 
like it.” 

“Can you make sparks, Sibella?” asked 
Poogie. 

“I don’t think so,” answered Sibella. 

“Try if you can,” cried all the others. 

So Sibella rubbed against Poogie but no 
sparks came. 

Everyone said Smoky’s stunt was the best 
although Sibella thought that Poogie’s was 
almost as good. 

“Now, let’s eat,” cried Poogie. 

So Poogie dug up his two bones and, 
while he and Rowdy gnawed and growled 
over them, Sibella and Smoky lapped up 
their saucers of milk. 

After they had had refreshments, Sibella 
68 


and Smoky washed their faces while Poogie 
and Rowdy played tug-o’-war with a piece 
of rope Rowdy had brought with him. 

When the sun went down Rowdy and 
Smoky went home. They told Poogie and 
Sibella it had been a wonderful party and 
said they hoped they would have another 
soon. 

When Rowdy and Smoky were gone, 
Poogie went to attend to an old bone he had 
forgotten to bury, while Sibella sat down on 
the walk, curled her tail around her and 
began thinking some long, long thoughts. 



69 



CHAPTER VIII 

Poogie and Sibella Go to See the World 

O NE morning Sibella sat on the door¬ 
step watching Poogie who was stand¬ 
ing at the gate talking to a stray dog. 
Sibella did not like to have Poogie talk to 
stray dogs and she particularly did not like 
this dog who was very dirty and ill-man¬ 
nered. 


70 





Sibella waited a few minutes and then she 
called, “Poogie, come here.” 

Poogie made no answer, but went on talk¬ 
ing to the stray dog. 

“Poogie, come here,” called Sibella again. 

The stray dog looked at Sibella in a rather 
rude manner and then he ran away. Poogie 
came running up the walk, greatly excited. 

“Sibella!” he cried, “let’s take a trip.” 

“What kind of a trip?” asked Sibella. 

“Oh, just leave home and go away for a 
while. I want to see the world,” said Poogie. 

“Poogie,” said Sibella crossly, “every time 
you talk with a stray dog you get some crazy 
idea. One of those stray dogs persuaded you 
that it is foolish to wash and you went about 
for days so dirty I was ashamed of you. 
Once you got the idea that a dog has to 
chase every cat he sees in order to be a clever 
dog. And now you want to leave home and 
go away to see the world!” 

“But this isn’t a foolish idea at all, 
Sibella,” said Poogie. “A great many people 
go away to see the world. Traveling is quite 
fashionable. We can return any time.” 


71 


“We-e-11,” said Sibella doubtfully, “I sup¬ 
pose we might take a little trip. Where shall 
we go?” 

“Oh, we’ll just start out and walk along 
and see things as we go. That will be the 
best way. That stray dog told me he never 
knows where he is going; he just goes along 
and has a good time without worrying.” 

“Don't talk to me about that stray dog,” 
cried Sibella, “we are respectable folks and 
we shall travel in a respectable manner.” 

“Yes, Sibella,” said Poogie meekly. Secretly 
he thought it would be fun to be a stray dog 
instead of a respectable dog, but he was care¬ 
ful to say nothing to displease Sibella for he 
feared Sibella might change her mind about 
going to see the world. 

“When shall we start?” asked Sibella. 

“Right now,” cried Poogie. 

Thus it happened that Poogie and Sibella 
left their home one bright morning and 
started out to see the world. 

Now Poogie and Sibella had never been 
far beyond the end of Little-John-Lane so, 
in a short time, they were in a part of the 


72 


city they did not know. They walked along 
side by side, enjoying themselves immensely. 
They did not see many people for it was yet 
early in the morning. 

Once they passed a house where a large 
black dog stood at the gate. He looked at 
them in a friendly way and asked them 
where they were going. 

“We are going to see the world,” answered 
Poogie proudly. 

The big dog laughed and said, “You are 
rather small to be going to see the world, 
aren't you?” 

Poogie was offended so he made no an¬ 
swer. As they went on, he said to Sibella, 
“Of course we are big enough to go travel¬ 
ing. That big dog doesn’t know what he is 
talking about.” 

Sibella was thinking some important 
thoughts and did not answer. 

Just at that moment an ugly brown dog, 
somewhat larger than Poogie, came running 
across the street toward them. Sibella gave 
one look and then climbed a tree as fast as 
she could. Poogie stood his ground, but he 

73 


was dreadfully frightened. The brown dog 
stopped when he had almost reached Poogie. 
He was growling and the hair on his back 
was standing up straight. He walked stiff¬ 
legged around Poogie and then he rushed 
forward. Poogie was sure his last moment 
had come but he made up his mind to fight. 

Before the brown dog had touched him, 
a man whistled sharply and the brown dog 
ran away. Poogie drew a long breath of 
relief. It had been a narrow escape. 

Sibella came down from the tree and said, 
“Now, Poogie, let’s go home. I’ve seen all 
of the world I want to see.” 

It took Poogie a long time to persuade 
Sibella to go on with him but at last Sibella 
said, “Well, we will go on a little farther 
but if any other terrible thing happens I’m 
going straight home.” 

By and by they found themselves out in 
the country. They were hungry and thirsty 
but they saw no house where they could ask 
for food and drink. Sibella kept saying she 
was going right home, but always Poogie 
coaxed her to go on a little farther. 


74 


At last Sibella noticed that the sun was 
getting low in the west and she said, “Poogie, 
if we don’t go home, where are we going to 
stay all night? We can’t sleep out here in 
the fields.” 

By this time Poogie was tired and cross so 
he said. “Of course we can sleep out here in 
the fields. Stray dogs and cats have to sleep 
outdoors, and if it doesn’t hurt them it 
won't hurt us.” 

Sibella said nothing but she made up her 
mind that she wouldn’t sleep outdoors all 
night. She was a respectable cat and respect¬ 
able cats did not sleep in the fields! She 
walked along sedately, waving her tail and 
thinking her thoughts. 

Suddenly she said, “Poogie, do you think 
you can find the way home when we are 
ready to go back?” 

“Of course I can find the way home,” 
answered Poogie shortly, 

Sibella was sure Poogie did not know the 
way home but she didn’t argue for she knew 
there was no use arguing with Poogie when 
he was tired. 


75 


They had had nothing to eat since morn¬ 
ing and they were very hungry. Sibella kept 
thinking of a saucer of milk she had left at 
home, and Poogie kept thinking of a fresh 
chicken bone he had buried the day before. 

When it was quite dark, they looked for 
a place to sleep. They found a little pile of 
hay in the field and crept into it. They lay 
close together and tried to keep warm. But 
Poogie and Sibella were not used to sleeping 
outdoors and soon they were both shivering. 

A long time passed and then Sibella heard 
Poogie crying softly. Sibella waited until she 
was sure Poogie was really crying and then 
she said, “Poogie, let's go home.” 

There was silence for a moment and then 
Poogie said, “I don’t know the way home, 
Sibella. I thought I could find the way, but 
I know I can’t find it in the dark.” 

“Never mind, Poogie, I know the way,” 
said Sibella. “Come on; if we start right 
now we can be home before it gets so very 
late.” 

Poogie wondered if Sibella really did 
know the way, but he was too miserable to 


76 


• 





talk so he crawled out of the pile of hay and 
followed Sibella. 

Sibella walked straight out of the field and 
started down the road. Poogie followed, too 
tired to care what happened to him. They 
trotted along for what seemed like hours to 
Poogie before they came to the edge of the 
town. As soon as they saw the lights twink¬ 
ling along the streets they began to feel quite 
happy. 

However, all their troubles were not over. 
As they crossed a side street, two stray dogs, 
who were searching for old bones in a garbage 
can, saw them and dashed after them. Again 
Sibella ran up a tree and left poor Poogie to 
face the enemy. Poogie was too tired to fight 
and too tired to run, so he lay down on his 
back and waved his four paws in the air to 
show that he surrendered. 

The stray dogs came up to him walking 
stiff-legged but, when they were close to him, 
one of them said, “Hello, aren't you the dog 
I talked with this morning in Little-John- 
Lane?” 

Poogie rolled over on his feet and said, 


79 


“Hello, yourself; yes, I’m the dog who lives 
in Little-John-Lane.” 

“What are you doing here?” asked the 
other dogs. 

Poogie told them how he and Sibella had 
started out to see the world, and he also gave 
an account of all their adventures. He ended 
by saying, “Now, we are on our way home. 
We have seen all of the world that interests 
us.” 

The stray dogs laughed loudly and said, 
“You had better go home, little dog, you 
aren’t big enough to go to see the world.” 

It made Poogie angry to be called a “little 
dog” but he would not quarrel with stray 
dogs. When they had gone, Sibella came 
down from the tree and they hurried home 
as fast as they could. 

As they entered their front door, Poogie 
said, “Sibella, I promise you I’ll never talk 
with another stray dog.” 

Sibella smiled but said nothing. She knew 
Poogie would forget all about his promise 
the first time a stray dog came along, but 
just now she was so glad to be home that 


80 


she didn’t care to argue with him. She sat 
down before the fire and began washing her 
paws. Poogie flopped himself down on the 
rug without even thinking of washing him¬ 
self. 

He yawned and said, “Sibella, I don’t care 
anything about seeing the world. Little- 
John-Lane suits me all right and I shall stay 
here always.” 

In two minutes he was asleep and snoring. 
But Sibella sat for a long time thinking some 
important thoughts she hadn’t had time to 
think all day. 



81 



















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